Monday, July 20, 2009

Please spare a few minutes to read how our great leaders were and compare them with our present day leaders.

Our head will hang in shame when we see the misdemeanours and the greed of our rulers.

It seems that Pakistan is for sale and the takers are here to buy it at a throw away price.

We are our selves responsible for this quagmire of which we are in now.

MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON PAKISTAN

Dr. Babur Zahiruddin

(Please forward)

RESTORE TO US THE PAKISTAN OF 1948.

The Cabinet Meeting was to be held – the ADC inquires, “Sir what will be served in the meeting…Tea or Coffee?”Sir looked up and replied sternly…the ADC was taken aback! “Whichever of the Ministers wish to have tea or coffee should drink it before leaving his home or when he returns home. The Nation’s money is for the Nation and not for the Ministers!”

After this instruction – as long as he was the Head of the nation …nothing except water was ever served in the Cabinet meetings.

Some items amounting to Rs.38.50 paisa had been purchased for the Governor General's House. He asked for the bill; a few items were purchased on Mohtarima Fatima Jinnah’s request; he gave instructions that the amount was to be deducted from her account. A couple of items were for his own personal use…their amount to be deducted from his personal account. The remaining items for the Governor House, he said, may be charged to the Government. Instructions were issued to check and make sure what may be charged to the government in the future.

When the brother of the British Emperor – Duke of Gloucester was going to visit Pakistan – the British envoy requested that he receive him at the Airport. He replied, “if I do so then the British head of state (King) would have to reciprocate when my brother would visit London”.

Once the ADC placed a Visiting Card before him…he took it and tearing it said, “Tell him not to come here before me, in future!” the card was his brother’s and his fault..? Printed under the brother's name was…Brother of Mohammed Ali Jinnah Governor General Pakistan.

During the severe winter of Ziarat, Col. Ilahi Bukhsh offered him a pair of socks. He liked them but inquired about the price. On learning that the price was Rs.2/-, he said the price was high. Col Ilahi Bukhsh replied that “the socks had been purchased from your account” to which the answer was that “even my account is a National trust…the Head of a poor country should not be so extravagant!” With that he rewrapped the socks and returned them to the Colonel.

He was impressed with the work of a particular Nurse in Ziarat and asked if he could do something for her. She said that she was from Punjab and all her family were there, she was alone in Quetta if he could have her transferred to Punjab.

He answered rather regretfully, “I am sorry…this is in the hands of the Health Ministry and not the Governor General's jurisdiction.”

He ordered a writing table to be installed in his plane…when the File reached the Finance Ministry; the finance minister sanctioned it but sent a written note stating, “The Governor General must ask the Finance Ministry before issuing any such Order”. He gave a written apology and withdrew his previous order.

There is the incident of the Railway track barrier/gates which is well known. When Gul Hasan (his ADC, later C-in-C Pakistan Army) requested the railway track gates to be opened so that his car may pass over unhindered, his face turned red in anger and he ordered the gates to be shut saying, “If I do not obey rules – who else will!”

This was the Pakistan of 60 years ago when Mohammed Ali Jinnah was Head of State…We have evolved and arrived at this Pakistan of today. Today, railway track barriers/gates (Phatak) aside – all traffic signals of the city are switched off- both sides of the main roads are closed to traffic for an hour before the royal entourage goes by and the Head of State may announce a 5 crore donation or funding without a sanction of the Finance Ministry and even after a refusal for a sanction from the finance ministry, aeroplanes purchased and on orders from the President and Prime Minister, scores of people are transferred – as many people’s jobs are terminated and without merit…by bending of rules and regulations as many personnel given promotion.

What to mention socks…even the kids pampers are charged to the National treasury which has brought the expenditure of the President House to 18 and ½ and the Prime ministers budget to 20 Crores. Here nephews, sisters, brother in laws hold sway over the portals of power…where Secretaries receive phone calls from, “I am the brother in law of the Sahib.”

It is a Pakistan in which the full government is present at the airport to receive the vice-president of the United States of America. In the Cabinet meetings, besides tea, coffee full lunches and dinners are served. The kitchens of the President and prime Minister turn crores of rupees into smoke annually! This is the advanced Pakistan where 16 crore poor people are trying to survive!

When the Quaid e Azam left the Governor House on duty there was one police car with a single Inspector of police who also happened to be a non-muslim – at the time when Gandhi had been killed and Quaid e Azam’s life was in danger too – in spite of that the Quaid e Azam went for his evening walk, enjoyed the fresh air without security…but today the Heads of State do not travel even ten kilometres without modern bullet proof cars, expert security guards and well trained Commandos –

We have failed to instil equality in our country, we have been unable to establish a dynamic morally upright nation…have not even made it a peaceful secure modern State!

We the 16 crore poor of Pakistan desire the moral integrity of the Pakistan of 60 years back…Relieve us of this kind of progress, prosperity and prestige and restore to us the venerable Pakistan of the Quaid e Azam…the Pakistan of 1948.

Words of Almighty Allah:

Sura Nahl.

“We raised an Apostle in every nation, saying; serve Allah and avoid the idols. Amongst them were some whom Allah guided and others destined to go astray. Roam the world and see what the end of the disbelievers was!"

Saturday, July 18, 2009

An open letter to July 16, 2009Gen Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiyani, H.I, (M)Chief of Army StaffGHQRawalpindi

Sir,I am a retired Captain of the Pakistan Army having taken off my uniform in 1982 when I felt that my further presence in the Army will not be mutually beneficial to either one of us.I had a very short stay in the Army but it was very eventful, full of thrill, fun and experience, as I had the honour to serve with the troops in A.K and NORTHERN AREAS.It was in the 70’s and 80’s that the Army was held in high esteem and people who served in the armed forces were proud of their sense of belonging to the Pakistan Armed Forces. Where ever and whenever an ordinary soldier like me went in the public we were given honor and were looked up to as symbol of envy and respect.

I also as a young Captain at that time used to ride high on the pinnacle of glory with haughtiness and an air of arrogance because of the uniform I wore and because of the espirit de corps.

Sir, I come from a martial background, my father, brother in laws, sister, wife and father in law all served in the Army because we were proud to be a part of the Pakistan Army. My father Brig ® MUHAMMED ALIMUDDIN was commissioned in the Royal Indian Army in 1941 and served in the Burma campaign in the Second World War. In 1947 at the time of independence he opted for Pakistan and came to Rawalpindi to lay the foundations of the Army Medical Corps from a nascent stage. My father having served in the Pak Army for about 34 years retired in 1974.My father Brig ® Muhammad Alimuddin who retired from the Pakistan Army as an Eye Specialist played a long innings and met his Creator on 28th December 2001 and was buried with Military rituals in the Army graveyard along with my mother who preceded him in joining her creator on 13th October 2001.

Since the death of my parents it has been my regular and sacrosanct routine to visit the graves of my parents on Thursday morning every week along with my wife and children to clean the graves and to offer FATEHA.

With a passage of time my children got married and settled abroad, and now it has been left to the middle age decrepitude couple comprising of myself and my wife having been left alone to follow the family ritual of visiting and cleaning the ancestral graves.This practice has been stereo typed and ingrained in our weekly routine which we are following regularly since 2002 and very seldom have we missed out on going to the graveyard because of illness or being out of station.

Many times my sons who are now settled in Canada and USA asked us to settle abroad, but since my roots are here, being the son of the soil and as the graves of my ancestors are in Rawalpindi, I have always preferred to be in Rawalpindi because of my emotional, poignant and sentimental attachment with this city and above all, I want to be buried in Rawalpindi where my parents are lying in eternal sleep.

On 16th July Thursday 2009, I went as per my routine at 10:40 hours to visit the graves of my parents and to offer FATEHA, but the irony of fate and to my utter consternation and misfortune that I was rudely prevented to enter the Army Racecourse graveyard because there was a VVIP burial in which the top brass of the Armed Forces were participating. I implored and beseeching requested the M.P present to allow me to enter just to offer FATEHA along with my wife who was carrying flowers, garlands and incense sticks to offer at the graves, but all my imploring and requests were in vain. It seems that people in authority have the propensity to carry their malfeasance and braggadocio to extreme limits in order to gain propitious mileage and largesse with their superiors.I turned back from the Army graveyard with vitriolic thoughts and vituperative soliloquy and mutterings that what has become of Pakistan Army where a law abiding citizen is prevented and impeded from performing his sacrosanct rights and beliefs of visiting the graves of his parents.

The VVIP culture which has off late come into existence in Pakistan in the form of routes, closures and barricades in order to satisfy the egoistic proclivity of the ruling elite of the Armed Forces and the high Government Officials is causing great hardships, discomfort and heartburn for the common man of Pakistan who’s right of freedom of movement is protected and guaranteed by the constitution, but not available or given to him.The VVIP culture should be restricted to CMH, DHA, GHQ and defence establishments like Park Lane (Murree Brewery), Secretariat no II and Chaklala Garrison but please spare the graveyards from such atrocious and dogmatic cultures which fail to distinguish between the Gods creation that every man is born equal.

A few days from now onwards down the memory lane sooner or later I will also perish and mingle in the dust like you and will be buried unlike you without any military honors or the volley of muskets but our resting places will be the same mother earth.

NOW MY QUESTION ARISES?

Have I the right to visit the graves of my parents / ancestors or not?If I do not have the right than please turn the whole of the Army racecourse graveyard in to a red zone so that ordinary people like me have no right to enter the REDZONE (graveyard).There are no ranks in the graveyard where we all have to go eventually and be buried one day.

Sir, please spare the graveyards and places of worships like Mosques etc from your VVIP culture lest tomorrow there maybe no VVIPs and no VVIP culture.In the end please let me quote from Thomas Gray’s famous poem:“An Elegy written in a country churchyard” “THE PATH OF GLORY LEADS BUT TO THE GRAVE”

1.India adds 103.595% to the basic price of crude oil to arrive at the consumer price. Considering that the current price of crude oil is $ 60 per barrel, cost of oil per barrel in Indian Rs will be $60 x INR 49 (1$=Rs 49) = Rs 2940

One barrel consists of approximately 160 litres. So Price of crude oil per litre will be INR 2940/160 = INR 18.375. Add 103.595% under different heads of taxes and duties and other costs, the consumer price will be INR 37.411 WITHOUT GOVT SUBSIDY.

2.Pakistan is placed in a difficult situation. One US dollar costs us Rs. 82 as compared to INR 49. The depreciated Pak Rupee value vis-a-vis US$ emerges from lower exports, higher imports. It is government's responsibility to increase its exports and reduce its imports. There is no reason to let the common man suffer on account of the performance of the government.

3.Pakistan needs to work on two things. First, it has to work on weighted average inventory cost. The weighted average price of crude oil of the previously months should form the basis for fixing the basic crude oil price. Add to it, the fixed percentage of duties and taxes and other costs and arrive at the end price for consumers. Second, because of the depreciated value of our rupee vis-a-vis US$, the government of Pakistan has to reduce its duties and taxes and other costs to apply a lower cost addition to the basic crude oil price than the government of India (103.595%).

4.What the government of Pakistan can do further is:

a.Buy crude oil on the basis of future projections of oil prices, rising or falling, and keep adjusting its crude oil inventory accordingly. It can raise its oil inventory when the price is low, and decrease it when the price is high.

b.Fix reasonable refining cost for the oil refineries and ask them to improve upon their operational efficiencies to lower their refining cost.

c.Fix reasonable profit margin for oil marketing companies and ask them to improve upon their operational efficiencies to lower their marketing cost.

d.The refineries and oil marketing companies should be allowed net profit margins in accordance with the prevailing corporate dividends in the stock market.

It is time for all to tighten their belts. The government, the refineries and the oil marketing companies need to improve their operational efficiencies, re-negotiate shipping costs of crude oil to Pakistan, reduce domestic transportation cost, reduce bank borrowing cost, and reduce net profit margins.

India increased its prices of petrol by Rs. 4 per litre and diesel by Rs. 2 per litre as of 1st July 2009.The following statement reflects upon the circumstances under which the prices were increased.

"With hike in prices of diesel and petrol, oil companies will be able to avoid red ink in their balance sheet as they were bleeding under the burden of subsidies, discounts and oil bonds," Sajjan Jindal, president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), said in a statement.

The Confederation of Oil Industry (CII), another industry lobby, said the hike would add around 1.3 percent to inflation.

"In view of the continuous rise in global crude prices, a marginal increase had become unavoidable," he argued and said the petrol price was raised by "only" Rs four against Rs 6.9 as desired and diesel price by "only" Rs two against Rs 4.11 "keeping in mind the interests of 'aam aadmi' (common man)."

He said the retail prices of PDS kerosene and LPG were not increased by the government for which the projected subsidy burden amounted to Rs 30,000 crore.

Respectfully submitted for due consideration on high priority as the high petrol and diesel prices are bound to adversely affect the economic well being of the people at large who are already undergoing hyper inflation of other items of daily use.

The people of Pakistan are advised to use their own application of mind and see for themselves what actually is the price of POL products and what are Government is charging us.